ctdreamfandomcom-20200213-history
DREAM Act in Other States
To date, eleven states have passed bills that grant or permit universities to grant in-state tuition to undocumented students. Below is a summary of the laws of several of those states, the approach taken by activists in those states, the details of the legislation, and the impact of the legislation. New Mexico The Act Students residing in New Mexico, who meet the following requirements, are eligible to pay in-state tuition in New Mexico colleges and universities, regardless of immigration status: *Student has attended a New Mexico high school for at least a year and *Student has graduated from a New Mexico high school or obtained a GED in New Mexico The Activism New Mexico DREAM activism is mainly based on having undocumented students participate in rallies, panel discussions and serve as examples of the people who will be positively affected by the DREAM act. The Effects This section requires expansion. Please contribute. California The Act Students residing in California and meet the following requirements are eligible to pay in-state tuition at California colleges and universities: *Attend a California high school for three or more years *Graduate from a California high school or receive a GED from California *Provide an affidavit stating the student will apply for legalization once he/she is eligible to do so The Activism UC Davis students lobbied for California DREAM act that would allow undocumented students to qualify for financial aid by writing postcards to legislators and Governor Brown. Petitions, online and conducted on campuses, are popular, as well as calling the Governor’s office, state legislators, etc Split into two bills – one which would grant scholarships from a fund of private donations (no burden on state funds), one which would allow undocumented students to apply for Cal Grants (state funds) Students groups in high schools and universities work with local groups that support the bills, especially Hispanic groups and teachers/educators groups. Panels of Hispanics, students. teachers, local politicians and especially undocumented students have been popular. Media coverage of panels, rallies, etc. College finance administrators provide practical expertise on the financial impact on colleges. The Effects This section requires expansion. Please contribute. Oklahoma The Act Students residing in Oklahoma and meet the following requirements are eligible to pay in-state tuition at Oklahoma colleges and universities: *Attend a Oklahoma high school for three or more years *Graduate from a Oklahoma high school or receive a GED from Oklahoma *Provide an affidavit stating the student will apply for legalization once he/she is eligible to do so The Activism Student activism played major role in Oklahoma. Students from local high schools, colleges and universities have rallied on campuses, in town halls, and in the media through televised interviews and op-eds in local publications. Online petitions have played a major role, both for the bill itself and to rally support for specific cases of undocumented students being deported. Students have worked with organizations supporting the bill, such as local churches, local Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, college and high school Hispanic groups. Students also organized panels with Hispanic students, school administrators, and representatives of local Hispanic groups, discussing the potential impact of the bill on student’s lives, schools and communities with local media present. The Effects This section requires expansion. Please contribute. Texas The Act The Texas DREAM Act requires the following conditions to be met before allowing an undocumented student to be charged in-state tuition: *Lived in Texas three years prior to high school graduation or obtaining a GED from Texas *Resided in Texas the (full) year prior to enrollment in an institution of higher education *Provide an affidavit stating intent to apply for Permanent Residency when eligible to do so Stipulates that a candidate is considered an in-state student solely for tuitions purposes. The Activism A large part of the Texas Dream Activism can be attributed to local community groups becoming involved on behalf of the students. State officials were pressure by immigrant groups in the state who sited the following court decision which held that undocumented students were allowed public education in grade K-12. The primary intent of these laws is to make higher education more affordable and accessible to these students. The Urban Institute estimated in 2000 that between 50,000 to 65,000 undocumented students graduate from American high schools each year (Ruge and Iza 2005). These children are guaranteed access to public schools (K-12) by a 1982 Supreme Court ruling. In Plyler v. Doe (1982), the court found that a state cannot deny undocumented children a free public K-12 education. In a 5-4 ruling, the Court found that a Texas statute withholding funds from local school districts for education of children not legally admitted into United States and authorizing districts to deny enrollment to such children violated the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Effects This section requires expansion. Please contribute. In Fall 2005, roughly 8,000 of 485,000 students, or 1.6% of students, in Texas public universities were undocumented. Illinois The Act Illinois mandates that undocumented students meet the following criteria before being charged in-state tuition at a public university: *Student has resided in Illinois with his/her parent or guardian while attending public or private high school *Student has graduated from an Illinois public or private high school or received a GED from IL *Student has attended an Illinois high school for at least three (3) years *Student has registered to enter the university no earlier than the Fall 2003 semester *Student provides the university with an affidavit stating he/she will file an application to become a permanent resident of the U.S. once he/she becomes eligible to do so The Activism Large lobbying to the Illinois legislature on the behalf of the immigration units in the state. Student demonstrations, petitions, and protests gained public attention and placed pressure on the government. A large success of the bill is then Gov. Blagojevich who stressed the economics incentives such a bill would provide to the state, as these children would now be more likely to make more money in their lifetime and thus add more revenue to the state. The Effects This section requires expansion. Please contribute. Utah The Act The Utah DREAM Act requires the following criteria be met before an undocumented student is eligible for in-state tuition: *Attended high school in the state of Utah for three or more years *Graduated from a high school in this state or received the equivalent of a high school diploma in this state *Registers as an entering student at an institution of higher education not earlier than the fall of the 2002-03 academic year *In addition to these requirements, a student without lawful immigration status shall file an affidavit with the institution of higher education stating that the student has filed an application to legalize his immigration status, or will file an application as soon as he is eligible to do so. The Effects The Utah System for Higher Education estimated that 169 undocumented students were able to attend college and pay in-state tuition during the 2004-2005 school year under this legislation (Bulkeley 2006). Based legally on the decision of the California Supreme Court. Arguments that support legislation in all of these areas A secondary argument in favor of providing in-state tuition to undocumented students concerns a state’s economic interest. According to a recent report by the American Association for State Colleges and Universities, a “large portion of undocumented alien students are likely to remain in the United States, whether or not they have access to postsecondary education. Accordingly, it would seem to be in states’ economic and fiscal interests to promote at least a basic level of education beyond high school to alien students, to increase their contribution to economic growth while reducing the prospect of dependence on public/community assistance” (AASCU 2005). Students with a degree are more productive, less likely to need government assistance, and help to maintain a strong state economy (National Immigration Law Center 2005). In addition to a state’s economic interests, higher education has positive effects on individual earnings. For example, individuals with higher education degrees have much higher incomes. The average earnings for a high school graduate in 2000 were $25,900 annually. College graduates earned on average $45,400 annually (Day and Newburger 2002). The comparison indicates an additional economic benefit to individuals and state economic interests.